Monique (TDI: FYE)
Monique Darling prefers to keep to herself, mostly because she’s the only person she really cares about. Big attitudes come in small packages, though, and The Trendsetter won’t let anybody mess with her. Biography The only daughter of a successful modern art painter and mystery author, Monique is used to getting what she wants, when she wants it. She lives in a lavishly decorated flat on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and has always admired the fashions displayed in the windows of the shops below her bedroom window. When she was younger, she used to go into the stores with her mother and put on a fashion show in the dressing rooms, trying on the most extravagant garments in the store. When her mother offered to buy them for her, though, Monique always declined. She liked the clothes, but there was always just something that she didn’t like about them. She knew that she could dress better than the mannequins in the window, but she just couldn’t find the right items to complete an outfit. At that moment, Monique asked her mother for a sewing machine and she began perfecting the art of designing and creating her own clothing. Monique’s simple but chic designs began appearing on various fashion blogs while she was walking out and about, and eventually she began to accept commissions, putting more and more of her work out there. Eventually, she gathered enough fans to start an independent business, The Darling Collection, and she is able to make a steady profit from the clothing she sells. Monique always makes sure to keep the best items of clothing for herself, however, as in the end she is the one who really matters. Monique hopes that appearing on Total Drama Island: For Your Entertainment will attract international attention to her designs. This will get her more customers, eventually letting her small, self-run business expand to something much bigger. During For Your Entertainment... ... Audition Tape The video began by showing a thick crowd of people milling about a snow-covered sidewalk. To the camera’s left was a busy street, and to the right was the display window of a store. The camera handler was elbowed several times by passersby before she eventually headed for the front entrance of the store. “Ugh, come on Monique.” The camera girl sighed, a puff of vapor visible in the chilly air. Somebody talking on a cellphone elbowed the camera, and the handler just barely caught it before it hit the ground. “If she doesn’t come out right this minute, I swear I’m gonna-” “Sandra!” A short-haired girl waved at the camera when she pushed open the front door of the store, shopping bags hanging from both arms. Rather than greet her friend, she immediately entered the crowd of people on the sidewalk. “Come on, let’s go!” The camera holder, Sandra, groaned but followed her friend, who maneuvered easily through the pedestrians despite her tiny height. When Sandra met her pace, the dark-skinned girl grinned. “I just had to grab a few of the skirts from the display in the window because they would be perfect with an angled hem. I got distracted by a shirt that I can't wait to take a needle to, so I grabbed one of those too.” “Monique, can we just get on with this?” “Oh, right. Hello, I’m Monique Darling. I’m the designer of The Darling Collection, a name that you probably don’t recognize now but will soon see at Fashion Weeks around the world.” A gust of wind blew at Monique’s face, so she cinched a belt around her waist to keep her coat closed. “I designed this coat myself. I’m sure you could tell I’m into fashion by seeing me. Just look at these bundled up slobs on the sidewalk, and then look at me.” The camera gave her a once over. “Perfection!” “Could you talk a little faster?” Sandra asked, her teeth chattering. “It’s freezing out here!” “Ugh, so impatient.” Monique rolled her eyes. “I’m not exactly great at physical challenges, but I think I’d be great for your show because I don’t take crap from anybody. Forget romance and friendships, I’m only worried about number one: me! I’m not exactly a Heather, since I have way more class than that, but there’s a reason the show’s not called Total Friendship Island. You want drama? I’ll give you drama and look good while doing it.” Monique gave the camera one more stunning grin before giving Sandra a thumbs up, a sign that it was fine to end the video. Trivia *In the first version of the story, Monique was named Lydia. She was a British girl from London with a much softer personality. For a while I had turned her into a sweet New York-based designer named Angela, though the creation of Angel made me change her name again. The new personality came with the name change because the old character was too boring. *Eric is also from New York City, but while Monique is from Manhattan, Eric is from The Bronx. *Monique is the shortest contestant overall, even with her heels on. *Monique's hair was originally an asymettrical bob, but I ended up cutting her hair even shorter with her final redesign, as the old style seemed a bit outdated. *Monique's outfits are difficult to come up with because they need to be unique enough for her to have designed herself, but ended up being a lot of fun to draw. *As revealed in All I Want is Revenge, Monique is bisexual. This makes her the second character revealed to not be heterosexual, the other being Minerva. *At times, Monique tends to be a confessional queen, as she often complains in the confessional. In both Teeth and Flashing Lights, she appeared in the confessional three times, more than any other contestant has done. *Monique was meant to seem like a supporting character through the first half of the competition, slowly getting more important as the episodes go on. She was supposed to seem as though she was there only for her friendship with Minerva, but her role ends up extending beyond that. **The only other character that this really happens with is Wes, who Monique is coincidentally friends with. **I actually wasn't quite sure what type of personality Monique would have until a few episodes into the competition. At first, all I knew I wanted her to have a personality that balanced out with Minerva's, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to make her a confident diva or more of a sophisticated, quieter character. *Monique and Minerva's friendship has been planned since I first created their characters. They were also together in the first concept sketch of their characters, as they were designed to visually contrast each other. Gallery Monique- Alternate Outfit.png|Alternate Outfit Monique- Pajamas.png|Sleepwear Monique- Swimwear.png|Swimwear Monique- Flashing Lights.png|Red carpet outfit for Flashing Lights Category:TDI: For Your Entertainment